Preparation and Catalytic Application of Novel Water Tolerant Solid Acid Catalysts of Zirconium Sulfate/HZSM-5

Esterification of acrylic acid（AA） to produce AA esters has widespread application in the chemical industry. A series of water tolerant solid acid catalysts was prepared, and characterized by XRD, nitrogen adsorption, TGA-DTA, XPS, and ammonia adsorption FTIR. The effects of Si/Al ratio, zirconium sulfate（ZS） loading on HZSM-5 and calcination temperature on the esterification were investigated. When 20% （mass fraction） ZS is loaded on HZSM-5, the conversion of AA reaches 100%. XRD analysis indicates that ZS is highly dispersed on HZSM-5 because no crystalline structure assigned to ZS is found. Catalytic activity and hydrophobicity of ZS supported on HZSM-5 are higher compared with those of parent ZS or HZSM-5. Results show that this kind of novel catalysts is an efficient water tolerant solid acid catalyst for esterification reactions.

Enhanced hydrolytic removal of tylosin in wastewater using polymer-based solid acid catalysts converted from polystyrene

Antibiotic production wastewater usually contains high concentrations of antibiotic residues,which can cause instability and deterioration of biological wastewater treatment units and also domestication and proliferation of antibiotic-resistance bacteria.An effective pretreatment on antibiotics production wastewater is expected to selectively reduce the concentration of antibiotics and decrease the toxicity,rather than mitigate organic and other contaminants before further treatments.In this work,two polymer-based solid acids,PS-S and CPS-S bearing high concentrations of-SOH_(3)groups (up to 4.57 mmol/g),were prepared and successfully used for hydrolytic mitigation of 100 mg/L tylosin within 20 min.The co-existence of high concentrations of COD and humic substances did not affect the mitigation of tylosin obviously,while more than 500 mg/L of nitrogenous compounds suppressed the hydrolytic efficiency.Recycle and reuse experiments showed that the solid acids performed well in five cycles after regeneration.Three transformation products (P1,P2 and P3)were identified using UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS.Sugar moieties including mycarse,mycaminose,and mycinose detached and released simultaneously or in order from the 16-member lactone ring through desugarization,which led to a dramatic decrease in antibacterial activity as revealed by cytotoxicity evaluations using S.aureus.Ecotoxicity estimation indicated the acute toxicities of the hydrolyzed products to model species (e.g.,fish,daphnid and green algae) were classified as“not harmful”.This work suggested an effective and selective method to pretreat tylosin-contained production wastewater by using polymer-based solid acids.These results will shed light on effective elimination of antibiotics pollution from pharmaceutical industries through strengthening the pretreatments.

Catalytic Performance of Aquathermolysis and Viscosity Reduction of Heavy Oil over a WO_(3)/ZrO_(2) Solid Acid

Tungstated zirconia(WO_(3)/ZrO_(2))solid acid catalysts with different WO_(3) contents were prepared by a hydrothermal method and then used in the catalytic aquathermolysis of heavy oil from Xinjiang.The WO_(3)/ZrO_(2) solid acid catalyst was characterized by a range of characterization methods,including X-ray diffraction,NH3-temperature programmed desorption,and pyridine infrared spectroscopy.The WO_(3) content of the WO_(3)/ZrO_(2) catalysts had an important impact on the structure and property of the catalysts.When the WO_(3) mass fraction was 20%,it facilitated the formation of tetragonal zirconia,thereby enhancing the creation of robust acidic sites.Acidity is considered to have a strong impact on the catalytic performance of the aquathermolysis of heavy oil.When the catalyst containing 20%WO_(3) was used to catalyze the aquathermolysis of heavy oil under conditions of 14.5 MPa,340℃,and 24 h,the viscosity of heavy oil decreased from 47266 to 5398 mPa·s and the viscosity reduction rate reached 88.6%.The physicochemical properties of heavy oil before and after the aquathermolysis were analyzed using a saturates,aromatics,resins,and asphaltenes analysis,gas chromatography,elemental analysis,densimeter etc.After the aquathermolysis,the saturate and aromatic contents significantly increased from 43.3%to 48.35%and 19.47%to 21.88%,respectively,with large reductions in the content of resin and asphaltene from 28.22%to 25.06%and 5.36%to 2.03%,respectively.The sulfur and nitrogen contents,and the density of the oil were significantly decreased.These factors were likely the main reasons for promoting the viscosity reduction of heavy oil during the aquathermolysis over the WO_(3)/ZrO_(2) solid acid catalysts.

Biochar-based Solid Acids as Catalysts for Carbohydrate Hydrolysis: A Critical Review

Recently, increasing interest has been focused on the hydrolysis of carbohydrates to monosaccharides, among which, glucose and xylose as typical platform sugars can be used to produce chemicals and biofuels. As heterogeneous catalysts, solid acids have gained extensive attention for biomass biorefinery and could replace the conventional process owing to their excellent properties, including acceptable acidity and easy separation. In particular, biochar-based solid acids derived from biomass are promising for biomass conversion owing to the low-cost of feedstocks and the simple preparation procedure. Herein, we attempt to provide a critical overview of biochar-based solid acids for hydrolysis of carbohydrates into glucose and xylose. The preparation methods and properties of biochar-based catalysts as well as the influence of their properties on catalytic performance were discussed in detail. We also highlight the major challenges facing the use of biochar-based solid acids for carbohydrate hydrolysis.

Sulfonic acid-functionalized core-shell Fe_(3)O_(4)@carbon microspheres as magnetically recyclable solid acid catalysts

Green and recyclable solid acid catalysts are in urgent demand as a substitute for conventional liquid mineral acids.In this work,a series of novel sulfonic acid-functionalized core-shell Fe_(3)O_(4)@carbon microspheres(Fe_(3)O_(4)@C-SO_(3)H)have been designed and synthesized as an efficient and recyclable heterogeneous acid catalyst.For the synthesis,core-shell Fe_(3)O_(4)@RF(resorcinol-formaldehyde)microspheres with tunable shell thickness were achieved by interfacial polymerization on magnetic Fe_(3)O_(4)microspheres.After high-temperature carbonization,the microspheres were eventually treated by surface sulfonation,re sulting in Fe_(3)O_(4)@C-x-SO_(3)H(x stands for carbonization temperature)microspheres with abundant surface SO_(3)H groups.The obtained microspheres possess uniform core-shell structure,partially-graphitized carbon skeletons,superparamagnetic property,high magnetization saturation value of 10.6 emu/g,and rich SO_(3)H groups.The surface acid amounts can be adju sted in the range of 0.59-1.04 mmol/g via sulfonation treatment of carbon shells with different graphitization degrees.The magnetic Fe_(3)O_(4)@C-x-SO_(3)H microspheres were utilized as a solid acid catalyst for the acetalization reaction between benzaldehyde and ethylene glycol,demonstrating high selectivity(97%)to benzaldehyde ethylene glycol acetal.More importantly,by applying an external magnetic field,the catalysts can be easily separated from the heterogeneous reaction solutions,which later show well preserved catalytic activity even after 9 cycles,revealing good recyclability and high stability.

Efficient production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from hexoses using solid acid SO_4^(2-)/In_2O_3-ATP in a biphasic system

A natural attapulgite （ATP）‐based catalyst, sulfated In2O3‐ATP （SO42-/In2O3‐ATP）, was obtained by an impregnation‐calcination method and was used to efficiently and selectively produce the useful platform chemical 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural （HMF） from hexoses. Some important reaction param‐eters were studied, revealing that Lewis and Br-nsted acid sites on SO42-/In2O3‐ATP catalyze glu‐cose isomerization and fructose dehydration. The yields of HMF from glucose and fructose were 40.2%and 46.2%, respectively, using the optimal conditions of 180℃ for 60 min with 10 wt%of solid acid catalyst in a mixture of γ‐valerolactone‐water （9：1）.

Alkylation of Catechol with tert-Butyl Alcohol Catalyzed by Mesoporous Acidic Montmorillonite Heterostructure Catalysts

The liquid phase alkylation of catechol with tert-butyl alcohol to produce4-tert-butyl catechol (4-TBC) was carried out over MCM-41, HZSM-5, H-exchanged montmorillonite andnovel acidic porous montmorillonite heterostructures (PMHs). Upon all catalysts tested, 4-TBC is themain product and 3-tert-butyl catechol (3-TBC) and 3,5-di-tert-butyl catechol are the sideproducts. The synthetic PMHs showed higher conversion of catechol and better selectivity to 4-TBCcompared to other solid acid catalysts tested. Over the PMHs derived from H-exchangedmontmorillonite through template extraction processes, the suitable reaction temperature is ca 410K, the ratio of catechol to tert-butyl alcohol is 1:2. Increasing the amount of catalyst (lowerweight hourly space velocity) can improve the conversion of catechol and influence the selectivityslightly. The reasonable reaction time is ca 8 h. The type and strength of acidity ofH-montmorillonite and PMH were determined by pyridine adsorption FT-IR and ammoniatemperature-programmed desorption techniques. The medium and strong acid sites are conducive toproducing 4-TBC and the weak acid sites to facilitating the 3-TBC formation. The differences betweenthe PMHs from calcination and those from extraction are attributed to proton migration and aciditychange in the gallery surface.

A new solid acid SO_4^(2-)/TiO_2 catalyst modified with tin to synthesize 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate

A new solid acid catalyst,SO4^2-/TiO2 modified with tin,was prepared using a sol-gel method and its physicochemical properties were revealed by nitrogen adsorption-desorption,X-ray powder diffraction,scanning electron microscopy,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed pyridine,temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia and thermal gravimetric analysis.The structure,acidity and thermal stability of the SO4^2-/TiO2-SnO2 catalyst were studied.Incorporating tin enlarged the specific surface area and decreased crystallite size of the SO4^2-/TiO2 catalyst.The total acid sites of the modified catalyst increased and Bronsted acid strength remarkably increased with increasing tin content.The decomposition temperature of sulfate radical in the modified catalyst was 100 ℃ greater and its mass loss was more than twice that of the SO4^2-/TiO2 catalyst.The SO4^2-/TiO2-SnO2 catalyst was designed to synthesize 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate by esterification of 1,6-hexanediol with crylic acid.The yield of 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate exceeded 87% under the optimal reaction conditions：crylic acid to 1,6-hexanediol molar ratio = 3.5,catalyst loading = 7%,reaction temperature = 130 ℃ and reaction time = 3 h.The modified catalyst exhibited excellent reusability and after 10 cycles the conversion of 1,6-hexanediol was above 81%.

Reaction Kinetics of Biodiesel Synthesis from Waste Oil Using a Carbon-based Solid Acid Catalyst

The kinetics of simultaneous transesterification and esterification with a carbon-based solid acid catalyst was studied.Two solid acid catalysts were prepared by the sulfonation of carbonized vegetable oil asphalt and petroleum asphalt.These catalysts were characterized on the basis of elemental analysis,acidity site concentration,the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller（BET）surface area and pore size.The kinetic parameters with the two catalysts were determined,and the reaction system can be described as a pseudo homogeneous catalyzed reaction.All the forward and reverse reactions follow second order kinetics.The calculated concentration values from the kinetic equations are in good agreement with experimental values.

Construction of a Bronsted-Lewis solid acid catalyst La-PW-SiO_(2)/SWCNTs based on electron withdrawing effect of La(Ⅲ)onπbond of SWCNTs for biodiesel synthesis from esterification of oleic acid and methanol

A novel solid Bronsted-Lewis acid catalyst La-PW-SiO_(2)/SWCNTs(single-wall carbon nanotubes)was synthesized from the synergistic modification of H_(3)PW_(12)O_(40)(HPW)by single-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized with sidewall hydroxyl groups(SWCNTs–OH)and La^(3+) via sol–gel method.The freshly prepared catalyst was characterized by several methods,and the catalytic activity and stability of it were studied from the esterification of oleic acid and methanol.Results showed that the highest conversion of oleic acid was 93.1%(mass)and maintained as high as 88.7%(mass)after six cycles of La-PW-SiO_(2)/SWCNTs.The high catalytic activity and stability of La-PW-SiO_(2)/SWCNTs can be attributed to the strong electron withdrawing effect of La^(3+) on π bond of SWCNTs,because it can facilitate the formation of a large number of strong Lewis acid sites.Therefore,the reduction of catalytic activity of a solid acid catalyst due to the fact that hydration reaction of its Bronsted acid sites can be effectively reduced.La-PW-SiO_(2)/SWCNTs can be an efficient and economical catalyst,because it shows good catalytic activity and stability.

A highly active and stable organic-inorganic combined solid acid for the transesterification of glycerol under mild conditions

Solid acid catalyst plays a crucial role in the petroleum refinery industry and bio-refinery technology.In this work,p-phenolsulfonic acid(PSA)was successfully grafted onto the surface of KH560-modified zirconium phosphate(K-ZrP)in a facile routine.The structure and property of this organic-inorganic combined solid acid PSA/K-ZrP-x were characterized via XRD,FTIR,^(13)C solid-state NMR,TG,N_(2) adsorption-desorption,SEM,pyridine-adsorption FTIR and XPS technologies.The characterization results showed that KH560 can bond with ZrP and promote the grafting of PSA on the surface of K-ZrP via the condensation reaction between its epoxy ring and the phenolic hydroxyl group in PSA.Consequently,PSA/K-ZrP-2 exhibited excellent performance and stability in the transesterification between glycerol and methyl acetate among the tested H_(3)PW_(12)O_(40),Amber-lyst-45,HBEA,HZSM-5,ZrP,AlCl_(3) and FeCl_(3) catalysts.The calculated conversion of glycerol reached 81.3%with a 97.9%selectivity for monoacetin(MAG)and diacetin(DAG)with a 2.2%dosage of[H^(+)]at 100℃ for 4 h.The highest specific activity of PSA/K-ZrP-2 reached 24028.2 mg-glycerol/g-cat/h in a short reaction time(at 0.17 h),and it could be recycled five times without obvious deactivation.

Mesoporous Silicoaluminum Pillared Clays with High Thermal Stability and BrФnsted/Lewis Acidity by One-pot Synthesis

Mesoporous silicoaluminum pillared clays have been synthesized by one-potgallery-templated synthesis using organomontmorillonite, tetraethyl orthosilicate and aluminaisopropoxide as precursor. According to the characterization by powder X-ray diffraction(PXRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), N2 adsorption isotherms and pyridine adsorptioninfrared (IR) techniques, the synthetic silicoaluminum pillared clays possess regular porosity withhigh thermal stability up to 750 ℃ and Br?nsted /Lewis acidity.

Catalytic Hydrolysis of CFC-12 over MoO_(3)/ZrO_(2)-TiO_(2)

Solid acid MoO_(3)/ZrO_(2)-TiO_(2)catalysts were prepared by impregnation method,and catalytic hydrolysis of difluorodichloromethane(CFC-12)over the catalyst was studied.The presence of MoO_(3)/ZrO_(2)-TiO_(2)catalyst in polycrystalline state could be clearly observed by transmission electron microscopy(TEM).Mesopores were detected by N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms which further confirmed the MoO_(3)/ZrO_(2)-TiO_(2)structural characteristics of catalyst.The results of NH_(3)-TPD showed that the calcination temperatures had a great influence on the acidity of the catalyst,and the weak acidic site had a strong catalytic activity for the catalytic hydrolysis of CFC-12.Moreover,ZrO_(2)-TiO_(2)was highly dispersed in the MoO_(3)framework,suggested by powder X-ray diffraction(XRD)and N_(2)adsorption-desorption results.The effects of the catalyst calcination temperatures on the conversion rate of CFC-12 were studied.The effects of catalytic hydrolysis temperatures and water vapor concentration on the catalytic hydrolysis rate of CFC-12 were also studied.The solid acid MoO_(3)/ZrO_(2)-TiO_(2)was calcined at 500℃for 3 h at a catalytic hydrolysis temperature of 400℃and water vapor concentration of 83.18%,and catalytic hydrolysis rate of CFC-12 reached 98.65%.The hydrolysis rate of CFC-12 remained above 65.34%after 30 hours continuous reaction.

Al(HSO_4)_3/silica gel as a novel catalytic system for the ring opening of epoxides with thiocyanate anion under solvent-free conditions

For the first time,metal hydrogen sulfates and phosphates/silica gel have been studied as efficient and powerful solid acid catalysts in the ring opening of epoxides with thiocyanate anion.The most significant result was obtained by Al(HSO4)3/SiO2which afforded the corresponding β-hydroxy thiocyanates under mild reaction conditions and in very short reaction times.The cheapness, availability of the catalyst,ease of procedure and work-up make this method attractive for the organic synthesis.

Dehydration of xylose to furfural over niobium phosphate catalyst in biphasic solvent system

Phosphoric acid treated niobic acid(NbP)was used for the dehydration of xylose to furfural in biphasic solvent system,which was found to exhibit the best performance among the tested catalysts.The excellent performance of NbP could be explained by the better synergistic cooperation between Bro¨nsted and Lewis acid sites.Moreover,NbP showed good stability and no obvious deactivation or leaching of Nb could be observed after six continuous recycles.

Hydrothermal Synthesis, Characterization and Catalytic Properties of Nanoporous MoO_ 3/ZrO_ 2 Mixed Oxide

A nanoporous MoO3/ZrO2 mixed oxide was hydrothermally synthesized by hydrolyzing zirconium isopropoxide in the presence of a cationic surfactant, eetyltrimethylammonium bromide（CTAB）. The crystal structure and the acidity of the obtained nanoporous MoO3/ZrO2 mixed oxide were determined by means of XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption and NH3-TPD, respectively. The isobutane/butene alkylation over the MoO3/ZrO2 catalyst was carried out in a fixed bed reactor. The results reveal that ZrO2 in MoO3/ZrO2 exists mainly in the tetragonal phase, and the catalyst samples possess large specific surface areas as well as moderate acidity for isobutane/butene alkylation. Compared with samples prepared by impregnation and sol-gel processes, MoO3/ZrO2 mixed oxide samples prepared in this work have a better catalytic activity.

Polyoxometalates-based heterogeneous catalysts in acid catalysis

Acid catalysis,one of the most important industrial processes,suffers from the toxicity,corrosion and recyclability problems of conventional homogeneous acid catalysts.Thus,the development of green heterogeneous acid catalysts becomes the focus of fundamental research and industrial catalysis.As a class of discrete anionic metal-oxygen clusters with tunable structure at the molecular and atomic scales,polyoxometalates(POMs)benefit from their super strong Br?nsted acidity,high proton mobility,and thermal stability.POMs-based heterogeneous catalysts have been used as the potential green alternatives to conventional homogeneous acid catalysts.In this review,we summarize recent progress on the design strategies of the POMs-based heterogeneous catalysts and their catalytic properties in acid-catalyzed reactions,where they are combined with functionalized cations,modified through covalent interactions,supported onto the non-precious metal support,and introduced into the framework of porous polymers.The design,functional strategies and catalytic performance of these POMs-based heterogeneous catalysts in specific acid-catalyzed reactions are emphasized.

Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil over Mesoporous SO42-/Zr-SBA-15

Biodiesel production from waste cooking oils over SO42-/Zr-SBA-15 catalyst was successfully carried out and investigated. SO42-/Zr-SBA-15 catalyst was prepared by one-step process using anhydrous zirconium nitrate as zirconium resource, and endowed with the strong Lewis acid sites formed by supporting the zirconium species onto the SBA-15 surface. The asprepared SOt2-/Zr-SBA-15 showed excellent triglyceride conversion efficiency of 92.3% and fatty acid methyl esters （FAME） yield of 91.7% for the transesterification of waste cooking oil with methanol under the optimized reaction conditions： the methanol/oil molar ratio of 30, the reaction temperature of 160 ℃, the reaction time of 12 h and 10wt% of catalyst. It was noticed that the as-prepared SOa2-/Zr-SBA-15 materials with the higher area surface of mesoporous framework and the surface acidity displayed excellent stability and reusability, maintaining high FAME yield of （74±1）% after seven runs of reaction.

Sulfonic acid-functionalized mesoporous silica catalyst with different morphology for biodiesel production

Sulfonic acid functionalized mesoporous silica based solid acid catalysts with different morphology were designed and fabricated.The synthesized materials were characterized by various physicochemical and spectroscopic techniques like scanning electron microscopeenergy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area,thermogravimetric analysis and n-butylamine acidity.The shape of catalysts particles plays an important role in its activity.The sulfonic acid functionalized mesoporous silica catalysts of spherical shape and the cube shape were assessed for catalytic activity in biodiesel production.The catalytic biodiesel production reaction over the catalysts were studied by esterification of free fatty acid,oleic acid with methanol.The effect of various reaction parameters such as catalyst concentration,acid/alcohol molar ratio,catalyst amount,reaction temperature and reaction time on catalytic activity were investigated to optimize the conditions for maximum conversion.It was sulfonated cubic shape mesoporous silica which exhibited better activity as compared to the spherical shape silica catalysts.Additionally,the catalyst was regenerated and reused up to three cycles without any significant loss in activity.The present catalysts exhibit superior performance in biodiesel production and it can be used for the several biodiesel feedstock’s that are rich in free fatty acids.

Converting industrial waste contact masses into effective multicomponent copper-based catalysts for the Rochow process

In this work, we report a simple and inexpensive approach to synthesize effective multicomponent Cu-Cu2O-CuO catalysts for the Rochow process from industrial waste contact masses （WCMs）. WCMs from the organosilane industry were treated with acid followed by reduction with metallic iron powder. The obtained copper powder was then subjected to controlled oxidation in air at different temperatures, followed by ball milling. The orthogonal array approach was applied to optimize this process, and the stirring speed and pH were found to significantly affect the leaching ratio and copper yield, respectively. When used for the Rochow process, the optimized ternary Cu-Cu2O-CuO catalyst greatly enhanced the dimethyldichlorosilane selectivity and Si conversion compared with Cu-Cu2O-CuO catalysts prepared without ball milling, bare Cu catalysts, and Cu-Cu2O-CuO catalysts with different compositions. This could be attributed to their small particle size and the strong synergistic effect among the multiple components in the catalyst with the optimized composition.